Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I have a provision in the Republican motion to recommit that will be discussed later this afternoon that I would like to bring to the body's attention. The need to provide Americans more choice, more affordability, and more access in health care is a belief we all share. Two towns in my district Onaga and Wamego, both small, rural communities, are facing the very real possibility of losing their hospital because growth in a town 45 miles away is jeopardizing their critical access funding. At a time when rural communities are

already faced with major challenges, any loss of health care access would be devastating. My provision will protect the critical access hospital designation, and I would ask the body for their support for the motion to recommit.

Offered By: Ms. Jenkins

Amendment No. 18: Add at the end, before the short title,

the following new section:

Mr. Speaker, last November, Americans sent a clear message. They wanted change in Washington. But they also asked for accountability, transparency, and for politicians to respect their tax dollars.

Unfortunately, from the $787 billion so-called ``stimulus,'' trillions in bailouts, and the $3.55 trillion budget, Washington has gone on a reckless spending spree with taxpayer dollars.

And now the majority in Congress is trying to pass a government takeover of health care that will add $239 billion to the debt our kids will have to pay back.

Prime time press conferences don't hide the fact that since January, our Nation's debt has skyrocketed by more than $1 trillion, that our debt to China increases each day, and that our Nation is facing double- digit unemployment levels.

Kansans know you can't spend money that you don't have. Congress must learn this lesson. As a CPA, a former State treasurer and a mother of two teenagers, I'm convinced that we need commonsense solutions to rein in spending, keep taxes low and get Americans back to work.

Mr. Speaker, the number of empty storefronts across Kansas is growing, and the folks who call our towns home continue to ask, Where are the jobs?

They hear about bailouts and the $1 trillion so-called economic stimulus, but Kansans are still struggling.

The Nation's deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time, and some say it could grow to $2 trillion by this fall. We should be ashamed. But rather than putting the brakes on this out of control spending spree, some think Washington needs to spend more.

Mr. Speaker, when does it stop?

Instead of taxing small businesses out of existence, we should provide tax relief so they can hire more employees and create jobs. Instead of throwing money at programs that aren't working, we should find responsible ways to cut spending.

Small businesses and innovative Americans hold the key to jump- starting our economy. It's time for Washington to let them do their job.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information regarding earmarks I received as part of the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill, H.R. 2997:

Earmark: Polymer Research at Pittsburg State University

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, RE/FA Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Pittsburg State University

Address of Requesting Entity: 1701 S Broadway, Pittsburg, KS 66762

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $1,500,000 to make contributions in the use of cellulosic fibers of wheat straw, corn stalks, and grasses (all grown in abundance in Kansas) to convert them to fillers for a new family of plastics that would be cheaper and require less energy to manufacture, and also be more friendly to the environment. This is a good fit at Pittsburg State University due to their certified program in Plastics Engineering Technology. Continued Federal endorsement and funding for these activities will build upon their past successes in the area of polymeric oils for use in polyurethanes. If the United States is to become independent of foreign oil producers, then we must pursue industrial sustainability by continuous innovation, improvement and use of clean technology to reduce pollution levels and consumption of resources. At the Kansas Polymer Research Center, they can apply knowledge of biochemistry to develop processes to produce new bio-based products more efficiently than the chemical processes we have been using.

Earmark: Wheat Genetic Research

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, SRG Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University

Address of Requesting Entity: Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $240,000 to map and sequence the wheat genome through the Wheat Genetic and Genomic Resources Center (WGGRC). The WGGRC gene bank currently maintains 12,000 lines and these collections are continuously expanding as the Center acquires, develops, and distributes new genetic and genomic resources to facilitate wheat genetics, genomics, and breeding research. Kansas State University and Kansas wheat producers have already made an investment of almost $1.0 million towards the purchase of a DNA sequencer and a robot for arraying and printing of DNA filters. This request will collect, conserve, and distribute wheat genetic and genomic resources; develop improved germ plasm; develop genetic stocks; develop genomic resources; and support training and outreach.

Earmark: Grain Sorghum

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, SRG Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University and Texas Tech University

Address of Requesting Entity: Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, and 2500 Broadway, Lubbock, TX 79409

Description of Request: Provide an earmark of $515,000 to permit the Great Plains Sorghum Improvement and Utilization Center (GPSIUC) to expand existing research and educational programs, particularly in genetic improvement and sorghum utilization. Sorghum is one of the most drought tolerant crops in the world, offering many potential advantages as a food, feed and bioenergy crop to the rural economies of the Great Plains.

Earmark: Water Conservation

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, SRG Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University

Address of Requesting Entity: Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $69,000 to help: (1) agricultural producers, both crop and livestock, (2) rural communities in water-short areas; and (3) state and regional agencies to implement economical technologies and policies that will result in water conservation and prolong the life of the Ogallala aquifer in the face of increasing competition for declining aquifers and over-allocated surface waters. This effort is critical to the economic viability of western Kansas. In many parts of western Kansas, freshwater from both surface and groundwater is increasingly in short supply. Drought, aquifer and surface water depletion, and population shifts have stretched community and regional water supplies to their limits. As groundwater supplies decline or become cost prohibitive, better management of water through conservation, recycling, and treatment of poor quality water for secondary uses becomes even more important.

Earmark: Preharvest Food Safety

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, SRG Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University

Address of Requesting Entity: Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $142,000 to expand the University's investigations into (1) the ecology of Salmonella in beef cattle, (2) antimicrobial resistance in cattle, and (3) agroinformatics, and (4) animal health diagnostics. These four areas of research have great overlap and synergy and will allow Kansas State University to better identify emerging threats of food-borne and zoonotic diseases associated with food-producing animals. Currently, Kansas State University has an ongoing USDA special project on the ecology of E. coli O157:H7 in beef cattle and the environment. This bacterial organism is a major cause of food-borne illnesses in humans.

Earmark: National Agriculture Biosecurity Center

Requesting Member: Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins

Bill Number: H.R. 2997

Account: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Salaries and Expenses Account

Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Kansas State University

Address of Requesting Entity: Anderson Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506

Description of Request: To provide an earmark of $259,000 to fund the National Agriculture Biosecurity Center (NABC) for Phase III efforts for the development, enhancement and delivery of a targeted National Animal Health Laboratories Network (NAHLN) technical training support program. The funding is required to: (1) build and populate a lessons learned/best practices from NAHLN labs exercises and events; (2) expand animal health diagnostic screening capabilities regionally, including endemic and emerging pathogens (viruses, bacteria, and parasites) as well as prions such as BSE; (3) increase the testing capability and capacity of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL) in support of the NAHLN mission by conducting research on new methodologies and standardized operating procedures for enhancing and improving the efficiency of NAHLN equipment and laboratories; and (4) develop a training strategy framework for NAHLN laboratories.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, also known as the NBAF. After September 11, former-President Bush issued a security directive to increase our nation's capacity for animal disease research to protect our food supply as well as defend our agriculture and public health against disease outbreaks.

This directive could not come too soon, as the H1N1 pandemic is testament to the need for such high-level disease research and the impacts such outbreaks have on individuals in the United States and also around the world. The current facility at Plum Island is aging and cannot keep pace with today's needs.

DHS conducted an exhaustive, three-year search for the best site to relocate the facility. In January, the Department completed its search and finalized Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas as the site selection.

The so-called animal health corridor, stretching from Manhattan to Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than one-third of the animal health industry, involving more than 120 companies. Additionally, Kansas State has an internationally recognized animal health research expertise and with existing research infrastructure, including the Biosecurity Research Institute and the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. DHS chose the right place for NBAF, and now, we must work to complete the construction process.

This project is critical to the protection of our food supply and public health which is why we cannot afford to delay it. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the construction of NBAF in Kansas.

Summer travel season is here and prices at the pump are climbing. Rather than pursuing policies that will help Americans who are already struggling, as well as reduce our dependence on foreign energy, some in this body are leading us down a very different path.

This Congress' decision to embark on a journey toward a future where cap-and-trade taxes every man, woman, and child who dares to flip on a light switch or drive to the grocery store is the wrong approach. There's no doubt we can take better care of our environment, and I'm convinced that with an

all-of-the-above approach taken in the American Energy Innovation Act, we can produce clean alternative energy without breaking the bank of American families.

Why do I think that? Because to address our energy demand we need look no further than Kansas.

From the nuclear plant in Burlington, wind farms in Pottawatomie County, biodiesel produced from crops grown in Kansas, we do it all there. All we ask is to be allowed to do it.

I rise today in support of one provision in particular of the underlying bill which allows for increased borrowing authority for the FDIC and the NCUA.

Community financial institutions in Kansas are facing a sizable special assessment due to the deposit insurance funds being drawn down with the failure of numerous institutions across the Nation. Just last week I had a great opportunity to visit with several bankers from across the State who were in town with the Independent Community Bankers Association.

Growing up in rural Kansas, I know full well the close-knit communities in which these and other financial institutions operate across eastern Kansas, faithfully investing the hard-earned dollars of their neighbors to the betterment of the community and the depositors.

These bankers impressed upon me the need for this borrowing authority. With the special assessment as it is today, banks and credit unions face further hardship meeting regulatory capital requirements and lending demands. However, the FDIC has indicated that passage of increased borrowing authority may result in a reduction of this special assessment by as much as half. This potential has my constituents asking this body and me to pass this provision.

It is clear that recent institutional failures have significantly increased losses of the insurance funds. However, by and large, the financial institutions in my district did not cause this economic trauma. We must be careful that these community institutions which serve so many folks are not unfairly saddled with higher premiums to compensate for the mistakes of others.

Mr. Speaker, the President initially received praise for signing an executive order to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Unfortunately, this decision was not accompanied by a comprehensive plan to relocate the detainees after the closure. I have not found many folks either at home in Kansas nor here in Washington who would be happy to welcome the detainees as their neighbors. One place I am particularly convinced they should not be located is the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Little known to many outside of the military and those of us from eastern Kansas is the fact that Fort Leavenworth is home to the Command and General Staff College, a 115-year-old program at the fort that has trained more than 7,200 officers, including Generals Eisenhower, Marshall, McCarthy, MacArthur, Bradley, Arnold, Powell and Petraeus.

The CGSC not only trains our military leaders, but each year students from nations around the world study there. If suspected terrorists are held at Fort Leavenworth, out of protest or out of safety concerns, many of our allies would stop sending their military officers to train there.

Just days after taking the oath of office, President Obama signed an Executive order calling for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay within 1 year. Since then, despite requests to the House Armed Services Committee, no congressional hearing has been held.

I'm concerned that President Obama is willing to request $80 million in the fiscal year 2009 war supplemental to fund closing Guantanamo Bay but won't work with Congress on a strategy on where to transfer the detainees after closing it.

As a Representative of Fort Leavenworth, which has been discussed as a potential relocation site for the Guantanamo detainees, I am very troubled that $50 million of the funds are earmarked for the relocation to an unknown site. Moving suspected terrorists to the United States will place an unnecessary risk on Americans. It's my priority to look out for the safety of the Leavenworth community, and I cannot in good conscience say to the people in and around Leavenworth that they would be secure with suspected terrorists nearby.

If the President is serious about closing Guantanamo, he should work directly with Congress on a comprehensive plan.

Before ever serving in elected office, I spent nearly 20 years practicing public accounting--helping individuals and businesses balance their budgets. Balancing budgets is my business, and I'm certain of one thing--this budget spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much.

I recently asked my constituents in Kansas how this budget will impact them. I heard stories from small business owners who are afraid that higher taxes will force them to close their doors and lay off employees, as well as from middle-class families scrimping to pay their bills and just save a little each month.

One family wrote this: ``We are not asking for money from the government--just that they carefully take care of the taxes we pay. We consider paying taxes our responsibility as American citizens. But we also need to be able to have enough to live on.''

Gimmicks don't hide the fact that this budget will triple the Federal debt in 10 years, bringing it to $17.3 trillion by 2019, and will increase the tax burden on working families across the Nation to allow for massive new spending plans to grow government.

My constituents in Kansas sent me to Washington to protect their hard-earned paychecks. It's very disappointing that this budget falls so short of the fiscal discipline rhetoric that we have heard so much about lately.

The House should reject this budget resolution and adopt a responsible plan to curb spending, create jobs, and control debt. Our children's future depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the frustration that my constituents and I have at the abuse of taxpayer dollars.

The American taxpayer, over the past year, has been forced to foot the bill with hundreds of billions to bail out bad decisions made by institutions that were deemed too big to fail, including AIG.

After receiving almost $200 billion in taxpayer bailout dollars, we now know AIG used some $165 million to pay bonuses to many of the same executives who got them into this mess in the first place. These bonuses are outrageous; but even more outrageous is that this whole situation could have been avoided. During the closed-door conference committee meetings for the

Democrat so-called stimulus bill, a provision was slipped in that permitted the AIG bonuses to be paid.

The $165 million in bonuses AIG recently made must be recaptured. As the primary--unwilling--investors, the American taxpayers deserve to know how and when they will be repaid and given assurance that their dollars will not be squandered any further.

The legislation voted on today will not recapture 100 percent of taxpayers' money, and it sets a dangerous precedent for punishing individuals by taxing past behavior deemed inappropriate.

It is disappointing how this body continues to let the American people down.

I know many Americans are struggling to pay their monthly mortgage payments. Unemployment is on the rise, yet more than 90 percent of homeowners are still able to scrimp and save enough each month to pay their mortgage.

Congress and government agencies have thrown billions at this crisis, yet we have little to show for it. And President Obama even said in his speech last night that the recovery plans will require significant additional resources from the Federal Government, probably more than what is already set aside. He left the door open to come back and ask for more taxpayer dollars to bail out the bad decisions of others, yet we have seen little positive impact from the initial expenditure.

Congress should not be in the business of rewarding bad actors, and I'm concerned that is exactly what H.R. 1106, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, and the President's plan for the housing crisis will do.

One piece of H.R. 1106 is a cram-down proposal. While the goal of the proposal may be admirable, when we see re-default rates of 55 percent within only 6 months, is that really solving the problem?

Lenders from the Second District in Kansas have told me this cram- down proposal may force an increase in interest rates. How does this increased borrowing cost benefit that young married couple looking to buy their first home? Not to mention, as I read in Business Week yesterday, many times loan modifications can result in higher monthly payments.

I understand exactly the sentiments shared with me by my constituent, Craig Grable from Wathena, Kansas. He sent me a letter telling me he pays his mortgage on time each month. He is angry that folks who have bought houses they could not afford are being rewarded by those housing plans.

He said, ``If the market recovers and he sells that home for a profit, he basically is keeping my tax dollars, and that is not right.''

Folks around the country like Craig who made their payments on time should not have to pay for the risky loans made by irresponsible lenders and speculators who got into loans they could not afford. At a minimum before anyone is given government assistance on their mortgage, there needs to be a clear set of eligibility standards including income verification, proof the borrower has not intentionally defaulted on the mortgage in order to benefit from government assistance, and assurances that the Federal Government is not subsidizing vacation homes.

Craig ended his letter to me saying, ``This nonsense has to stop.'' And I agree. Action without results is futile. Let us implement solutions that produce results.

Mr. Speaker, Members of the House are being asked to say to vote for a so-called stimulus package. This comes after having only 10 hours in the dark of night to read the final language of the 1,000 page report, which itemizes how we are to spend nearly a trillion taxpayer dollars.

Our economy is struggling right now and Kansans are well aware of that fact. Yet, by overwhelming majorities, they are asking me to vote against this package today. Kansans are pleading with Congress to look beyond just tomorrow and look toward what is best for long-term economic recovery. Even the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that over the next decade, the extra debt created by this bill will ``crowd out'' private investment and lead to lower GDP. We are about to pass what will be the largest burden that one generation has ever passed on to another. And the non-partisan CBO says it won't even work! This hampers our economy in the long run and burdens our children with even more debt.

My constituents in Kansas are asking for real economic relief, not funding for pet-projects. While the majority continues to claim that this bill contains no earmarks, it still has billions in it to fund ``green'' golf carts, mouse habitats, and other such projects the majority evidently believes is a good use of Kansans' hard-earned tax dollars.

The conference committee, behind closed doors, decided $8 billion for a high-speed railway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles will better stimulate the economy than an additional $200 in the pockets of hard- working families all across our nation. My constituents are the folks who know best how to spend a dollar and stimulate the economy, not a distant federal bureaucracy in Washington.

A real stimulus needs to have a balance of tax relief and targeted investment. The majority is exploiting the current economic downturn to jam through a bill full of irresponsible spending and government expansion.

Mr. Speaker, the folks in Kansas are struggling right now, and they are hoping Congress can provide some relief. Instead, this body introduced and passed a bill, spending nearly $1 trillion, disguised as a stimulus package, without a single Republican vote in favor of it.

By large majorities, I am hearing from Kansans that while they are eager for action to stimulate the economy, they do not support the bill the House passed last week. They also express continued frustration with the ``partisan rule'' in Washington, as opposed to a balanced bipartisan approach to good government.

When discussion about this package began, it was all about infrastructure investment and job creation. But somewhere along the way, the Speaker and the majority have lost sight of that and instead decided to craft a massive pork-laden bill.

The Speaker's bill spends almost as much as Congress has appropriated for all war-related programs since 2001. And now we hear that the Senate wants to spend even more. This bill will take resources from the private sector, creating more government, not more jobs. In the long- run, this extreme expense of Federal spending will burden our children.

This bill will take resources from the private sector, creating more government not more jobs. In the long run, this extreme level of federal spending will burden our children. That's not an economic stimulus. That's a crime.

What's more, many of the programs funded in this bill may have merit but they will not stimulate our economy. Before any program was included, two questions should have been asked. (1) Will this help the economy? And (2) Will it create jobs? If the answers were NO, then it should have been saved for another day.

The House Republicans had an alternative recovery package that, according to President Obama's economic advisors, cost less and created more jobs. It would have allowed fast-acting tax relief for working families and small businesses.

Immediate tax relief would allow Kansans to keep more of their paychecks to use however they want. My constituents in Kansas know better than Washington politicians and bureaucrats how to use their money to stimulate our economy.

A real stimulus needs to have a balance of tax relief and targeted investment in our crumbling roads and bridges. The majority party forced through a bill full of wasteful and irresponsible government spending, and it needs to be fixed.